Cornelia's Secret
by Carlalalita
Summary: Companion story to Irma's Tale and Busted: The back story to how Cornelia's relationship with Caleb was on the rocks and all the behind the scenes info as her relationship with Peter starts. Rated M for a reason!
1. Chapter 1

**Oh yeah, I do not own W.I.T.C.H. or any of the characters, the plot is totally a work of my twisted little mind...**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **Peter's POV**

I am not a nice guy. I mean they're just kids right? Or at least they were...so when did my little sis and her friends grow up? And WOW! The way some of them grew up!

They've always been around, sort of like an extended part of the family. I've always treated them and thought of them like sisters...I mean I still think of most of them like sisters...but Cornelia...lately my thoughts are anything but brotherly.

Nice guys don't wonder what their younger sister's best friend tastes like...like if her lip gloss is flavored. If I were a nice guy wouldn't she be off limits because she has a boyfriend?

Why does it even matter? I date plenty. I've never been the one woman kind of guy, its always been best to have girls as friends...friends with benefits that is.

So why isn't it enough anymore? Why am I so miserable?

Well, duh! The answer to that is easy. Right now there are five teenage girls trouping through the living room to the kitchen. It's sort of hard to ignore them, especially with Cornelia wearing that sleep shirt. All I can do is imagine sliding my hands up those long legs to grip her tight little ass. How easy it would be to pop a button or two then slide the shirt to the floor to let me see her breasts. In my mind, she's not wearing panties so I'd be able to see everything.

I almost groan out loud at my thoughts, feeling my dick surge with need from the mental pictures. The pressure in my groin brings me back to reality and I hear the girls giggling in the kitchen as they make rice crispy treats. One voice in particular sounds like music to my ears. Just the sound of her laughter, is enough to cause my cock to harden.

There's no way I can sit here and pretend I'm not about to blow my load, so I turn off the television and head upstairs while the girls are still in the kitchen.

"Hey Bro'," Taranee calls, sticking her head out of the kitchen as I reach the middle of the stairs. "Do you want some rice crispy treats?"

Trying to appear calm, I pause ignoring the painful pressure of the zipper against my cock, and reply, "Maybe later, I've got some stuff to do in my room."

With that I quickly take the last steps and enter my room, closing and locking the door. A guy needs privacy while he finds release. It would not be good to have my parents or one of the girls to walk in and find me with my cock in my hand.

I turn my music player on with my favorite band. The music isn't loud, but just enough that the sound of my wanking can't be heard. I strip, then head into the bathroom. With a towel and a bottle of lotion, I settle on the toilet and begin stroke my aching cock. The memory of watching Cornelia's butt flounce past on the way to the kitchen makes my member twitch as I circle the head. As I get into my fantasies of all the things I'd like to do to Cornelia, my strokes become frantic until I'm blowing my load into the towel.

God I wish it could have been with her. My dick agrees cause it only goes down to semi-hard. I grab the lotion and the towel and move into my room. I may as well get really comfortable, because it feels like I'm going to be in here for a while.

* * *

 **Cornelia's POV**

We'd all just finished our homework, because Mrs. Cook insists that homework be done first when we sleepover, so Taranee doesn't start any bad habits. Then we changed into our pajamas. I had just checked my phone for the fifth time, but there was no message from Caleb.

Didn't he miss me even a little? I mean couldn't he have sent just a quick "Hi"? He knows I'm with the girls and Mrs. Cook does not allow boys to visit during our sleepovers, but shouldn't he at least call his girlfriend to say 'I hope your having fun but I miss you'?

Why doesn't he miss me?

I want to sigh, and lose myself in the sadness that grips my heart. I wish I could tell my best friends how I'm feeling and ask their help, but they're Caleb's best friends too. It wouldn't be fair to ask them to take sides.

I need something to take my mind off my heart, so I suggest, "Hey lets make s'mores...oh even better rice crispy treats – they have less calories."

The girls eagerly agree, we're always up for homemade snackage and rice crispy treats are something that even Irma can't screw up. Don't get me wrong - Irma's great but Will once told me that the stove shivers with dread when she enters the kitchen.

As we bound down the stairs, we passed Peter in the living room watching some crime scene investigation show, you know one of the ones that's named with letters like: URDead, or SICop. He acknowledge us with a look and a wave then went back to his show.

Taranee began pulling out the marshmallows, and cereal, while Will grabbed butter from the fridge. I grabbed the pan and Irma grabbed the mixing bowl and spoon. With all of the major bases covered, Hay Lin decided to make lemonade for us and began grabbing a pitcher and sugar.

The best thing about rice crispy treats is you only have to melt the marshmallows and butter. The rest is all mixing it with the cereal and pressing into a pan to cut up – hence the reason it is Irma-proof.

So in less than ten minutes we were cutting up squares and cleaning dishes. Taranee leans into the living room and calls out "Hey Bro' do you want some rice crispy treats?"

He declines, saying maybe later. Talk about weird – Peter always pilfers our snacks. I'm mean he gets freshly made goodies and doesn't have to help clean up – for him its a win-win.

Because we know we have to make enough to share we always make a double batch. So this means we troupe back up to Taranee's room with a lot goodies.

An hour later we're all too full and tired from giggling to eat another bite. There's still a full layer of treats on the platter and Hay Lin groans, "Agh!, get it away from me! I can't look at another rice crispy treat!"

"Oh, don't look at me, I'm too full to move," Will moans as she rubs her stomach for emphasis. Taranee says nothing just shakes her hand no. Irma is sound asleep on her sleeping bag, so that just leaves me. I'm the only one that hasn't over-indulged and that's because I respect my body. Being this beautiful doesn't just happen.

As I sit up and grab the tray and empty lemonade pitcher, Will and Taranee climb into their sleeping bags. Hay Lin is starting to levitate – a sure sign she's asleep.

Walking down the hall, I hall I hear the music in Peter's room and figure he's still awake. Maybe he'd like the rest of the treats. He said later right? This is later, so I knock lightly on his door.

"Yeah," his voice sound a little gruff, like I might have woken him up.

"Um, hey it's Cornelia, I was wondering if you wanted some of the rice crispy treats."

"Oh, yeah, just a sec."

I can just barely hear him moving, then the music goes off and he opens the door. Peter is wearing just a pair of jeans, no shirt no shoes. The top button is undone and I can see clearly the light dusting of hair that trails down into his pants.

God he's well-built. Muscular arms, broad shoulders and great abs. Just one look and all I can think about is what it would be like to lick that chest...to feel those arms pull me against his chest.

I think I stood there staring too long, because Peter leans toward me and says, "Hey, eyes up here before you get yourself in trouble."

I can feel my face grow instantly warm as I lift my gaze to meet his. He doesn't look embarrassed, his eyes are dark and he has a smirk on his face.

"See something you like?", he asks as he slowly moves his hand across his abs, caressing his six-pack then ending with his thumb caught in his belt loop.

What a question! I've had a crush on Peter Cook since I was 13, but he's always treated me like a kid. So this has to be a joke right? I mean he knows I have a boyfriend...right? He's just messing with me because I was checking him out. I'm sure he's just trying to embarrass me to teach me a lesson.

"Ha, ha," I answer, suddenly remembering that my boyfriend doesn't really care and here I am being teased by my crush. And the hits just keep on coming.

I thrust the tray at him then head to the kitchen with the dirty dishes. I'm sort of glad I'm alone because no one will see the tears that escape against my will.

This isn't the way it's supposed to be. I'm supposed to be in love and loved. Isn't that the way the story goes? Every thought, every breath just makes my heart hurt more until I'm standing in the middle of the kitchen, alone crying my heart out trying to not make a noise to wake anyone.

"Are you okay?"

I feel Peter's breath at my ear as two warm arms wrap me in a hug that's gently and comforting. And you know what I want to do? I want to lean back into his embrace, curl into him and get lost there.

But I'm Caleb's girl. And right now I really just want to pretend for a little while that he's Caleb? Just until I can breathe again...

It's almost like he can read my mind. Peter pulls me over to a chair, sits down and pulls me into his lap, wrapping me in his embrace and pulling my head to his shoulder. He makes soft shushing sounds and runs his fingers through my hair until I stop crying. This has to be the most gentle and caring thing anyone has done for me ages.

When I stop crying, Peter places his hand under my chin and directs my gaze to him and ask, "All better now?"

I nod and feel his hand caress along my jawline as I do.

"Did I make you cry?"

I just stare at him, until he nudges me and says, "Did I?"

I nod again, feeling myself on the verge of crying again.

Peter looks hurt and says, "I didn't mean to do that." As he runs his hand in small circles across my back. The feelings his hand evokes are anything but brotherly.

All of these soft touches and the gentle way he's treating me, it's all too much. There's just no way he hasn't guessed about my crush on him after all theses years. Why is he teasing me this way?

I push out of his arms and stand up, and walk to the far side of the counter - putting distance between us. I look back at him and still can't read what's going on. Peter is not normally mean, to anyone – least of all me.

"Why?" I asked in a choked voice.

"Why what?"

"Why are you being so mean...why are you teasing me like this?

Peter lifts a hand in the universal sign of wait.

"You think I'm teasing you? Teasing you? That's the farthest thing from my mind."

I think my heart stopped beating – he's not teasing me?

"You expect me to believe after all the times you've called me a 'kid' or your baby sister's _'too young friend'_ , that you'd seriously flirt with me?"

A smile eased across his face as he crossed the kitchen to stand in front of me, placing his hands on the counter bracketing me in place. Peter lowered his head to whisper in my ear, "I don't understand it myself, but sometime when I wasn't paying attention you grew up."

I felt my breath catch as he gently nipped my ear and asked, "Do you want to know the truth?"

I nodded slightly, the movement causing his jaw to brush mine. That very slight touch sent heated sparks running up and down my spine.

"I've been avoiding you all evening, but you coming to my door after everybody's asleep felt like a sign, like maybe the universe was telling me something. So I decided to go for it."

Peter placed a feather soft kiss on my jaw, then trailed down to my collarbone heated little kisses that made my eyes cross. Then he lifted his head, his heated gaze telling me he wants more. He wants me. As our lips met I was caught up in his passion. The kiss quickly deepened and I welcomed his tongue into my mouth when it sought entrance.

One of Peter's hands snaked around my waist pulling me flush against him as the other wrapped itself in my hair locking me in place as he took my mouth for his own.

* * *

 **Peter's POV**

Why did she have to taste so good? The feel of her, the taste...it all went straight to my cock. I ground my arousal against her, let her see there is no teasing going on...my feelings, my need for her is genuine.

We kissed, drinking in each others' taste for long moments. Panting hard when our lips finally separated. I looked into her eyes filled with desire and confusion. There will be time enough later to deal with the confusion, for now I wanted the desire.

"More," I begged softly as I moved my lips softly against hers. This time Cornelia surged forward to initiate the kiss. My response was raw, animalistic as I drew her in and took over the kiss.

The only thing that stopped us was the sound of my parent's car pulling into the garage. We broke apart to stare at each other, knowing we had to escape this room before we were caught. Wordlessly we left the kitchen, leaving the light on so that my parent's would think it was on as a kindness for them. We moved quickly up the stairs. I stopped at my door and pulled her quickly to me for one last quick kiss, then I told her, "I think you need to be kissed and kissed a lot. I don't think Caleb is the right guy for the job. But I won't rush you, I'll take what I can get...for now."

I watched her nod with kiss swollen lips then head silently into Taranee's room and shut the door.

I have always treated and thought of Cornelia like a sister. But now there is nothing brotherly about what I'm feeling...what I'm needing. No matter what it takes or how long, I will take her from Caleb.

* * *

 ** **Cheers!****

 ** **6/28/2015 6:45 PM PST****


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh yeah, I do not own W.I.T.C.H. or any of the characters, the plot is totally a work of my twisted little mind...**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

 **Cornelia's POV**

My sleep was filled pleasant visions of Peter: Peter smiling at me, taking my hand and leading me away, Peter kissing me and Peter running his hands across my over-heated body. I'm sure I touched myself several times in the night.

But as it all too often happens, the harsh light of day kills the sweetest dreams. I awoke in my sleeping bag and looked around Taranee's room. Will and Taranee were already awake and rolling up their bags. It was the sound of Irma trying to poke Hay Lin's floating form, she was asleep on the ceiling like most of us in bed, that woke me.

Even though I wasn't the first up, I rushed through rolling up my bag and headed to the downstairs guest bathroom for a shower. The heat from my dreams was still affecting my body and I needed some time away to cool down and deal.

I laid my things on the counter, then turned to shut and lock the door, when Peter slipped in and closed the door behind him. As the lock slipped into place I took in the form of his back. My heart began to race as my eyes trailed along the muscles of his back to his perfect rear.

Peter turned and pointed to the shower, telling me to turn it on. I fumbled with the knobs and started the water, unsure of what to expect. Just how far could this go?

* * *

 **Peter's POV**

Once the sound of the water started I knew no one would hear us. Add to it that my parents were still in bed and that the girls were normally slow to emerge on Saturday mornings. We had a few minutes before anyone could catch us.

"About last night," I started, then stopped at the look of distress on her face. I could just guess she thought I was going to say that it had all been a mistake. I needed her to know that I regretted nothing, so I stepped into her space and took her lips. The memories from last night fueled the electricity that sparked between us when we touched.

When I pulled back and began again, Cornelia's eyes were hooded and her hands gripped the front of my shirt like she never wanted to let me go. If only she knew how mutual the feeling was.

"I just wanted to check that you were okay...you know, not freaked out...the way I pretty much attacked you."

I could see a smile start at my choice of words. I pressed on, trying to not become distracted by her very kissable mouth.

"Last night you didn't say anything...it was just me talking. I need for you to talk to me, tell me what you're thinking."

"Umm," she started slowly, nibbling on her bottom lip.

"Please don't do that," I asked my voice suddenly thick with need.

"Do what?"

"The way you bite your lip drives me crazy and we don't have time for me to forget myself and start kissing you again."

I caught a quick glimpse of a smile as she lowered her face. The rosy glow that overtook her fair skin could not be hid. God, she has to be the most beautiful girl ever.

"Um, I'm not sure what I feel...you know I have a boyfriend, and I know you're seeing Stacee. I keep thinking that this is wrong...that I'm the worst girlfriend in the whole world. But then I can't help but want more...I've had a crush on you for so long."

I could help smiling at her words.

"It's all so confusing, and more than all that, I keep wondering why you kissed me last night?"

"Because you looked like you needed to be kissed. Because I thought I die if I had to wait even a second longer to feel your lips against mine. Because I hoped you felt the same way." The reasons just fell from my mouth, without me even having to think about the answer.

I placed my hands on hers, still entwined in my shirt, then I pulled one up and lightly kissed the palm and told her, "I meant what I said, I won't rush you. If you want me to walk away until you can make up your mind...I will. But if you ever need me, want me – I'll be there, no hesitation, no questions."

"So Caleb-"

"Caleb is not my concern. If he was on his job, I wouldn't have found you like you were last night, would I? But he's your first boyfriend, that's hard to let go of – especially for you."

She looked at me questioningly and asked, "What do you mean especially for me?"

"Cornelia, I've known you for quite a while. I've had years to over-hear how you girls talk, you are a dreamer and a romantic. You want, no need, a knight to swoop in to save you and swear his undying love until the end of time. Caleb's only partly that guy. He can be your knight, maybe even save you – but as sure as I'm standing here he doesn't love you. I've watched you guys together and he's trying but you two aren't a good fit. You want different things out of life and I think you know it but keep hoping he'll change."

Cornelia's face crumbled as the truth of my words hit her. She pulled her hands free and stepped back and my world felt a whole lot colder with her absence. She turned her back to me and began to fumble with her things on the counter.

"You know what, I think you should go before someone comes down and catches us."

"Okay, I'll go, but you know what I said is true. I see you, Cornelia...all of you. I can accept all of you. I want all of you. I'm no knight, you know I've dated around, a lot. So the question is can you see us? Can you see what we could be? Can you accept me?"

"We shouldn't have done what we did. I'm with Caleb and I believe we can work it out. Please don't ask me to give up on us. Yes, if it were another time, another place I could accept you, but it's not so we just have go on like this never happened."

I put my hand on the door knob and checked the hallway, everyone was still upstairs. Over my shoulder I told her, "I meant what I said, if you ever need me, want me – I'll be there, no hesitation, no questions. I want you so much I'll take a part of you if I can't have all of you."

Then I walked out of the bathroom, down the hall and out the door. I got in my car and headed to the park, hoping playing ball would clear my head, cause nothing would help the pain in my chest.

* * *

Life has returned to a semblance of normalcy. Or as normal as possible having sampled Cornelia's kiss. I'm trying, to act like my normal self. Occasionally, I see Cornelia with my sister and their friends or with Caleb. Every time I see her I ache for her, the only thing that keeps me going is that sometimes when no one else was looking, I catch her looking at me with a sense of the same need I feel.

Cornelia can never be happy with Caleb. I know it. I just hope I can live through the waiting. Even though I've gone back to my on-again off-again relationship with Stacee, it gives me no satisfaction. There's no real relationship with Stacee, we are simply friends with benefits. When either of us needs a release we hooked up, drive to Diablo Peak and do each other in my backseat. It should have be enough, but I found myself imagining it was between Cornelia's creamy thighs as I came. Stacee was fine with my increased need and frequency, but I had to face facts when I almost called her Cornelia as I pressed into her with hard fast strokes, filling the condom with my cum. It took a lot of concentration to force myself to stay quiet. But in my fantasies, every stroke, every touch was Cornelia, Stacee had become a mere shadow, just a stand in. When she spoke or moaned it disrupted my focus back to reality. In those moments, I really couldn't stand to look at Stacee.

I hated myself a little more every time I left Stacee, thinking how it would hurt Cornelia if she knew. Using her body was no longer a relief. So about a month after Cornelia and I kissed, I broke things off with Stacee permanently.

I still had several girls I could contact for some fun. But the thought of being with them left me cold. I tried to spend more time surfing or playing basketball, but my family noticed the change in dating habits. It would not have been hard, since I'd been girl-crazy since I was 13. My parents knew I was sexually active, but aside from making sure I had a generous supply of condoms to prevent surprises, they tended to avoid conversations about my sex life. We honored the don't-ask-don't-tell policy and it had worked for us for the past four years. Now at 17, it was the first time I wasn't actively dating, and I think they became worried that I might be considering an alternate lifestyle.

When my dad cornered me and tried to have a "talk" I lied saying my breakup with Stacee had been less than amicable, then I played the sympathy card heavily. My dad believed every word, offering platitudes of encouragement that the pain would end and I'd find someone new. With that he and my mother ceased to worry – attributing the change to my first heartbreak. In my parents minds, I was going through a normal stage that they just had to wait for me to get through. So they left me alone. I felt bad for lying – Stacee meant nothing too me. And they never guessed where my heart really lie - with Cornelia.

* * *

Heading to basket ball practice, I came down the north stairwell to find Cornelia sitting on the stairs with her head against her knees. It was strange cause she usually hung out with my sister and her other friends after school. I stopped and sat on the step beside her and nudged her gently with my elbow, without looking at her.

"Hey, I don't remember seeing you hang out here before," I teased, keeping my tone playful.

"Ugh, I just need a quiet place to go until I got past my need to scream." she groused, "Caleb is just so frustrating! I have student counsel today and he's not willing to make any changes in his schedule so we can get some time together. It's getting to be that I only get any quality time with him on Saturday. Is it so bad to ask for his attention? Isn't that what boyfriends and girlfriends are supposed to do?"

She breathed out a sigh and laid her head on my shoulder and looked up at me. Looking at her I took the moment to be a gift from the universe and leaned in and took her lips. Because surely the universe saw that look on her face said she needed to be kissed. Beautiful blue eyes, creamy skin and lips that were too long ignored called to me. I dove into her sweetness and captured her taste.

I nibbled my way across her perfect lower lip until her lips parted giving me entrance to her delectable mouth. I think she must chew a lot of gum, because I swear my tongue was flooded with the taste of strawberries. I slide my fingers through her hair, locking her in place for my plundering.

When I released her, she swallowed deeply and said in a husky voice, "You did it again."

"Yep, you had that look again...the one that said you needed to be kissed. Don't worry, no payment is required," I joked, "As a roving Casanova it is my job bring comfort to maidens such as yourself."

Color flooded her cheeks as a smile lit her face and she pulled back to star at me. I winked and stood up holding out my hand to help her up.

"Come on you've got Student Counsel and I've got basketball practice."

She stood up and all signs of her previous grief were gone. We walked out of the stairwell and went our separate ways.

* * *

I'd just finished basketball practice and headed for the showers, when I got a text from Cornelia:

"Need ur help. Can u take me home?"

Instead of stripping down and showering, I pulled my sweatpants on over my shorts and shot back a quick text: "No prob. Where r u?"

As I was grabbing my bag, Cornelia's answering text came across my phone: "By the east door near ur car"

I said goodbye to the team and headed for the parking lot. As I came out of the building, I saw Cornelia leaning against building with her arms wrapped around herself and her head down.

"Hey!" I called as I lifted a hand in a wave. When she lifted her head and I saw the tears that ran freely down her face, I couldn't stop myself from running to her.

As I drew closer to Cornelia, I could make out her stricken and pained look. I stopped just outside of her personal space and asked, "Are you okay?"

Cornelia gripped herself a little tighter as if hugging herself would provide a measure of comfort. When she made the smallest shake of her head, I stepped forward and wrapped her in my arms. The second she was in my embrace she began to sob and shake.

Something was really wrong and I could only think that having others see us here, see her like this would not be good. So I tried to move us towards my car, but the first step she took was so unsteady she fell against me on wobbly legs. So I scooped her up and moved quickly to my car.

"I need to set you down to open the door. Can you stand?" I asked, still concerned she would collapse.

She gave me a weak nod as I placed her feet on the ground. I continued holding her as she found her balance leaning against the jeep. Once the door was open and she was inside and belted in, I went back to where she had been standing to recover her school bag and my gym bag.

When I had stowed our bags in the backseat, I climbed into the driver's seat and looked over to see Cornelia staring blankly out the passenger window. I was sure she was intentionally not looking at me but at least she wasn't crying anymore.

It took about 15 minutes to drive to Cornelia's apartment. As I pulled to the front of the building, looking for a parking space, she unlocked her door and reached for the handle and whispered, "Thanks for the ride."

"Don't even think about getting out of this car! I'll park and take you in," I think my tone was more harsh than I meant it to be but it really pissed me off that she thought I'd just kick her out of the car when she was in this shape. Luckily she pulled her hand back and sat quietly waiting for me to park.

After about 5 minutes I'd found a parking space and we were climbing out of the car. I snagged Cornelia's bag from the back of the Jeep. When I came around the car, Cornelia resumed the same posture she'd had when I saw her outside of school. She hugged herself and walked slowly towards the promenade steps to enter her building. It looked like it took every bit of strength she had just to hold herself up and walk into the building. When we entered the elevator, she sagged against the wall and I became sure she was in pain.

I followed her to her door and watched as she fumbled with the key trying to engage the lock with shaking fingers. When she dropped the keys, I snagged them off the floor and stepped in to open the door.

Cornelia stepped into her home, then turned and reached for her bag, silently asking me to had it to her and go.

"Cornelia, wha-"

In a small voice, she cut me off saying, "You said no questions," tears began to fall again as in a quivering voice she continued, "Please don't ask me any questions...just go...I...I don't want you to hate me."

"Corny, believe me, I'll never hate you. You don't have to tell me anything I just need to know that you're okay. I can't leave seeing you like this, not until I know you're okay." She sighed turned and headed down the hall. I stepped into the apartment, it was bright and airy, so very different from the atmosphere that surrounded Cornelia right now. Closing the door, I followed silently behind her.

Cornelia entered her room and took off her jacket, that's when I saw the streaks of blood on her skirt. Cornelia watched my expression as she once again wrapped herself in a protective embrace. I looked into her eyes that radiated so much hurt and pain and felt helpless and useless. What should I do? What had happened to her?

* * *

 ** **Cheers!****

 ** **6/28/2015 7:10 PM PST****


	3. Chapter 3

**Oh yeah, I do not own W.I.T.C.H. or any of the characters, the plot is totally a work of my twisted little mind...**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

 **Peter's POV**

Cornelia grabbed a pair of sweats and a top, then moved slowly into her bathroom. I sank into the chair at her desk and waited for her to re-emerge. She offered no details and I remained quiet, determined to keep my word. If she wants me to know, she'll tell me.

After a few minutes she shuffled out of the bathroom, dumped the clothes she'd taken off into the trash bin by the desk.

"Do you need anything? Tylenol, something to eat?" I asked as she slowly climbed into her bed. I figured these questions would be okay.

She turned her back to me and shook her head. "I'll be okay, you can go," she replied as I watched her gather herself into a ball.

"Will your parents be home soon at least to check on you?"

"Nope, Lillian is at a girl scout sleepover and my parents are visiting my Aunt in Manhattan. Everyone comes home tomorrow. It's okay, I'll be fine on my own. I just need to sleep. Everything will be better in the morning."

"Cornelia, I'm not leaving you like this," I tried to keep my voice gentle but listening to her try to convince me and herself that leaving her alone was in her best interest was making it hard.

She needed help, so I took off my jacket and laid it on the desk chair. I went into the kitchen, and found a note from Mrs. Hale telling Cornelia to order pizza for her dinner and a twenty dollar bill. I picked up the delivery menu and quickly filled a glass with water. Going back into Cornelia's room, I asked her where they kept the pain killers and told her that her mother left money for pizza. At first I didn't think she would answer, but after a few seconds she unfolded her body the tiniest amount and told me where to find tylenol and that she liked combination pizza.

Cornelia took the tylenol and then slept while I waited for the pizza. I woke her when the pizza arrived, she still moved slowly, but it looked like she felt better. Cornelia ate silently, managing to get two small slices down and started to lay back down.

"Wait Cornelia," I said before she could go back to sleep, "Tell me how you're feeling – better, worse or the same."

"I'm starting to feel better," she replied in a small voice staring at her hands as she picked at the blanket. I watched her hands tense as she looked up at me and asked, "Why'd you stay?"

"Because someone hurt you," I answered truthfully, "and if I left then I'd be hurting you too."

Her lip quivered as she said, "So I guess you figured out what happened, then huh?"

"Um, yeah, I'm not a virgin. I've been with a couple girls on their first time – so I know that a guy can really hurt a girl if he's not gentle. I'm just guessing its ten times worse if he forces himself on the girl...did someone make you..."

Cornelia's hand came up and covered her mouth as she tried to drown out a sob. She curled her knees into her stomach and fought back more and more sobs.

It was a risk, but the only thing I could think to do was to lay down beside her and hold her close. She tensed at first, but has I held her and made shushing sounds she slowly relaxed and her breathing returned to normal.

"I...I want to tell you...somebody...I don't think I can keep this in. But once you know..." small sobs began anew.

I nuzzled her hair and shushed her some more, before I told her, "Oh, Cornelia you are so precious to me. I don't need you to be perfect, because I'm not. I need you to be okay, and to trust me. And I think you do trust me, you called me not Caleb – that says a lot. So just let me be here for you, I might be able to help."

We lay there quiet for a few minutes before Cornelia spoke, "It was Kyle Sommers, I'd flirted with him some, hoping to make Caleb jealous, but nothing serious. Kyle saw us kissing in the stairwell today and cornered me after the meeting. He said he always knew I was a cheap slut and that he was going to tell Caleb and the whole school what he'd seen. I begged him not to tell anyone..."

I know Kyle, he's a real jerk. I don't know of a single girl he's dated that's gone out with him twice. He likes to brag about how girls are always begging to service him. No one believes him, but it doesn't stop his bragging.

"I begged him to just leave me alone, but he wouldn't stop. He pushed me against the bleacher support beam and the next thing I know he's inside me and it hurt," Cornelia gulped and shivered as she relived the memory.

"He had me pressed so hard against the beam...I couldn't...I couldn't move...I begged him to stop...but he just dug his fingers harder into my hips...so hard I have nail marks. It hurt so bad and I cried, but he just said to consider it payment for his silence. His silence, like it really mattered, because Caleb came into the gym looking for me just as he let me up. He saw my blood as he closed his pants and said to Caleb as he walked out the door, "Too bad man, I got her cherry...guess she wasn't the slut she pretends to be."

"Caleb stood there for a moment then turned around and left me there without saying a word. That's when I called you."

Cornelia became quiet and still. I intertwined my fingers with hers as I took in all she told me. I was immensely glad this hadn't been done by Caleb – he was too much of a good guy to hurt a woman. But my heart ached for Cornelia, she'd been attacked, her virginity taken and her supposed boyfriend had walked away from her without bothering to find out what happened. In that respect I wanted to kill him...him and Kyle.

Now is not the time to focus on my anger. Cornelia is more important.

"Do you want to go to the hospital, this was-was," I almost choked on the word, "rape. We should report it, tell someone so that Kyle pays and doesn't do this to another girl." In the back of my mind I was already wondering how many of the other girls he dated...the ones that only went out with him once...had they been his victims as well? Is Kyle a sexual predator?

"No, no," Cornelia responded, her voice high and tight, "I'll be alright and I'll put this behind me."

"I don't like you keeping this to yourself," I told her as I ran a hand through her hair.

"I'm not keeping it to myself...I told you."

"Aren't you angry?"

"Yeah, I was so angry at him and hurt by him, that in that instant I could have ended his life. It scares me to know that I have that side of my heart – a part of me that would have killed him without a second thought. I'm angry at myself for letting him get me alone, for not reading the situation better. I'm angry that he took my virginity, but being angry won't bring it back - won't change a thing. So before I sent you the text, I decided that being angry wouldn't do any good. I have to move forward, if for nothing else but my own sanity."

I buried my face in her hair, desperate to calm the anger in my soul. There it was, the faintest of scents, mildly pine and definitely not a Cornelia scent. The thought of his scent clinging to her skin sickened me.

I told her softly, "How about I run you a bath? Maybe that will help with the soreness."

She nodded so I rose and went to her bathroom. I started the bath, letting the water get hot but not too hot. Looking around her space I found several bottles of bubbly stuff in various scents and flavors, but when I found the strawberry bath it was my only choice.

I went back into the bedroom and found Cornelia sitting on the edge of the bed. She looked at me and it seemed that some of the sadness was gone from her face.

"Can you get into the bath okay?" I asked Cornelia and she nodded as she stood slowly on wobbly legs, "Okay, I'm going to hang out here for a while with you. I just need to go get my gym bag from the car. I'm still sweaty from practice. Would it be okay if I showered and changed when you're out of the tub?"

Cornelia gave me searching look, then took one step towards the bathroom. She stopped then turned back, throwing herself into my arms. I closed her in my embrace.

An hour later, Cornelia had finished her bath, I was clean and changed and I managed to coax her out into the living room to watch a movie with me.

We sat on the couch, side-by-side, Cornelia's legs draped across mine and my left arm wrapped around her. As the movie ended, Cornelia snugged closer and said, "Let me just enjoy a few more minutes of this."

I placed a chaste kiss to the top of her head and rubbed my hand along her arm. It was just a little after eight pm so I was in no rush to get home.

Cornelia turned her face towards me and said, "Tell me the truth...are you disgusted by me now?"

I leaned down and brushed my lips gently across hers. The kiss was a whisper of the feelings I have for her and I held back as to not overwhelm her after her day. I was very pleased when Cornelia moved her hand to the back of my neck urging me to deepen the kiss.

When at last we parted lips, she whispered, "Thank you I needed that," against my lips.

She laid her head back against my shoulder and said, "I know you have to go home sooner or later and that the real world will be back tomorrow – my family returns, I have to deal with Caleb, and Kyle's rumors."

"Don't worry about Kyle, I'll handle him."

Cornelia stared up at me for a second trying to read my face, then gave up taking me at my word. She placed her head back on my shoulder and sighed in a contented fashion. The second movie started and we stayed that way until she fell asleep mid way through. I carried her back to her room and tucked her into bed. I sat at her desk and watched her sleep, this time so much more peacefully than when we'd first arrived here.

At just after ten pm I wrote a short not telling her to call if she needed anything, then headed home.

* * *

It didn't take long to get home. Walking through the door with my gym bag in hand, I was greeted by my parents, who were watching the news in the living room. My dad and mom were snuggled up on the couch much like I'd been with Cornelia for the last 3 hours. I had to smile seeing them together. My parents aren't the types to be overly showy with their affections, but they did have a few of the typical couple behaviors and snuggling on the couch was one of them.

"Hey son."

"Hi Peter. There's pizza in the kitchen if you're hungry."

"Yeah thanks, me and the guys got burgers," I lied and finished with, "I'm going to head to bed, I 've got to catch up with one of the guys early tomorrow."

"Ok."

"Night!"

I took the stairs two at a time and headed to my room. I stepped in and dropped my bag and stopped. I turned around and went back out and knocked on Taranee's door. I entered at her invitation and leaned on the door frame.

Taranee spread out on her bed with a book, looked up and gave me a quick "Hi!"

"Hey Nee, what did you do today?"

My sis twisted her face at me before she answered, "Nothing much, Nigel and I went to a movie. I came home had pizza, just an ordinary Friday. Why?"

True I don't normally stop by her room and ask what she did, but tonight was special. I just needed to see her, hear her and know that my baby sister was okay.

"Oh nothing, I just missed you today," it was the truth and she knew it so she let my less than normal behavior slide without further question.

"What did you do today?"

"Basketball practice, then I helped a friend, then we hung out. Alright," I finished, turning and pulling her door closed, "Good night then, Sis."

I headed back to my room closed the door and sank down on my bed. I heard my phone chirp and checked the text message to find a smiley face thanks from Cornelia.

Dealing with Kyle would be easy, if he refused to listen to reason, I'd just pummel him. Since tomorrow was Saturday, school officials couldn't get involved. I know I can catch him at his hangout at the mall arcade.

Dealing with Cornelia, was a different matter. I have absolutely no control or input in her relationship with Caleb, and that makes me crazy. I can't go and tell him what a jerk he was because that would betray Corny's trust – if she wants him to know she'll tell him. But I doubt she'll tell him, instead she'll probably plead with him for forgiveness – funny thing is I know if she asks, he will forgive her. And that brings us to my real problem, even after this, she'll still be his and I'll still be waiting and hoping.

I know in my gut that Caleb will never leave her even though she's not what he wants. I can only hope what he truly wants shows up soon.

I suddenly felt so tired. I lay down on my bed, too tired to undress. I just needed some quiet time to reflect. So much has happened today. And of all the things I never would have guessed, I realized that my first date with Cornelia was on the day she was attacked.

* * *

 ** **Cheers!****

 ** **6/29/2015 6:50 PM PST****


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh yeah, I do not own W.I.T.C.H. or any of the characters, the plot is totally a work of my twisted little mind...**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

 **Cornelia's POV**

I try. I mean I really try, but sometimes there are days when it just doesn't matter.

Ever have a day when you're just not yourself? A day when stress and fatigue make it hard to get out of bed let alone be cordial around people? Cordial, huh that's a laugh, seems like with a name like Cornelia, being cordial would be my thing, right?

Well Cordial Cornelia I'm not.

I can't sleep – the dreams I see when I close my eyes won't let me rest and add to that the tension between me and Caleb – it feels like I'm walking a razor's edge.

Yesterday, I tried to tell Caleb that Kyle forced himself on me, without going into detail. Then I begged him to forgive me and offered myself to him. Maybe I went too far...heck I don't know...there are no guide books for how to handle this kind of thing. Anyway, he turned me down and walked away. What will I do if he doesn't forgive me? If he doesn't, then Kyle will take another valuable thing from me...god I hate him! I feel queasy at the thought of what will happen when I see Caleb at school today.

Will walks up and casts me a wave hello, I lift my hand and return the greeting. We fall into step, heading to class. I'm really grateful Will's not a morning person, she doesn't talk too much until at least second period. It's good for my frazzled nerves to have the quiet time.

As we come around the corner approaching our lockers, I hear Irma's voice whine, "Not another sappy themed dance!" and Hay Lin's with her trying to get Irma excited about the upcoming dance.

A dance I'm not sure my boyfriend will be taking me to. And it will be all my fault if he doesn't. I hate that its my fault and I can't tell anyone. I can't tell the girls...I can't have them look at me with pity...I can't be the broken one. Hay Lin's wheedling Irma and I just can't take it.

"Irma with a boy that's not a total loser, never gonna happen. The universe is not set up for that kind of inequality," the words fall out of my mouth without a thought for what I'm saying or how mean it sounds.

But strangely enough, it feels good...it feels good to release some of the anger, even if in the back of my mind I know Irma doesn't deserve it. So I keep going. I want her to fight back. Irma has a razor sharp tongue and if I can push her into using it maybe I won't feel my other pains so much. So I keep poking at her, saying "I mean, what hottie would take her seriously? She's so tomboyish. Here's a hint, invest in a padded bra, you really do need more curves if you ever want to catch a guy's attention. Also, she sort of clueless about what boys want, I mean she would never stop with the snarky remarks long enough for a guy to kiss her."

"You know Princess Potpourri, not everyone builds their world around the boys, some of us like having a life and mind, you should try it some time... that is if you can get a loaner brain!"

This little bit of drama, the back and forth between us is a much needed slice of normalcy. No one is looking at me with pity...no one knows what happened, what Kyle did to me. Without missing a beat, I respond by pressing my hand to my head with my fingers in the shape of an 'L' and mouth the word "Loser" at Irma.

Hay Lin tries to calm things down, saying, "Guys please don't fight! It's a brand new day and we're all best friends."

"Yeah," Will added, " not to mention teammates. So you two need to put your bickering in check. By the way has anyone seen Taranee yet? She's supposed to check my math homework."

We head to homeroom, and Irma just stares at me as we go. I know I was mean, and maybe I should feel bad, but this was the first thing to really free my mind up from the memories of what Kyle had done and my problems with Caleb.

Class flew by me in a blur. Nothing really stuck with me and it took every ounce of strength I have to hold the appearance of paying attention. When the bell rang to release us to our next class, I felt my stomach drop like it was full of lead weights. Heading into the hall with everyone else, I waited to see what fate held for me today when I saw Caleb for the first time today.

I walked slowly, trying to appear calm and nonchalant, hoping no one would pick up on my frayed nerves or the fear I was holding inside.

I felt his closeness before I saw him, Caleb stepped up behind me and whispered hello. As I turned to gaze in his eyes I was rewarded with a look of genuine happiness and forgiveness. It seems time and the grace of God had gifted us both with a new day. Happily I threw my arms around him and he allowed me to bestow upon him a deep kiss of greeting.

This kiss was the first real comfort I felt all day. Caleb gently ran his hands down my arms to my hands as the kiss ended and we parted lips.

"We need to talk," Caleb whispered as he stepped back taking my hand heading towards class.

The hopeful warmth that had started with the kiss, quickly died as he guided us towards our friends. A feeling of emptiness began overwhelming my senses. And all around me my friends are chattering away in blissful ignorance. Hay Lin's so happy she's literally bouncing up and down. While Will, being much lower key was still obviously enjoying thinking about the dance.

I felt my heart thud painfully in my chest. The heavy weight of each beat seemed to echo in my ears. All I wanted to do was dissolve in to a puddle of goo on the floor. Goo doesn't hurt, goo doesn't have a boyfriend that doesn't love them. Kyle couldn't hurt goo...

I tried to hold a smile, nod – to be part of the group but not really talk. But as usual Taranee sensed something was off and asked, "Hey, Cornelia are you okay?"

Everyone's eyes turned to me, everyone that is except Irma. I spied her trying to slink off without being noticed. It was either her or me, so I threw her under the bus before our friends could focus too closely on me.

In my best snide voice I called out, "Aw, don't go Irma. Stay and join in. I mean just because no real boy would ever go with you doesn't mean you can't be part of the fun. Just think outside the box, you could bring your cousin David or if you want to stick with someone from our school, you could try same sex dating. You never know you might get lucky." I ended my little tirade with a giggle, which Taranee and Will joined in thinking I was joking.

Inwardly, I held my breath as I waited to see if my diversion worked. I was rewarded by Hay Lin and Caleb's jaws falling open and they turned to glare at me. Taranee and Will stopped laughing and stared at me.

I stood stone-faced as Irma's face scrunched up and large tears began to roll down her cheeks. We all watched as she turned and headed to the gymnasium. Martin appeared from out of nowhere to follow her steps like a faithful puppydog. I still wasn't sure if it had worked until Hay Lin said, "See Cornelia your wrong there is a boy that likes Irma, so there!"

As far as a comeback, it was lame. But a true Diva doesn't let anyone have the last word on her even it is lame. In a voice loud enough for everyone nearby to hear, I stated flatly, "Martin is not really a boy, he doesn't even count as human. Hanging with him will NOT improve her stock and she really needs to face her options. Because hanging with her is starting to make MY stock go down."

I have no idea where I came up with that stupid retort but I flipped my hand through my hair and did my best to play the role of Queen Bee and Head Bitch.

In a growled voice, Caleb said, " Cornelia you need to stop right now..."

But I continued my role of a diva on stage, cutting him off with another snide remark, "What?! Don't look at me that way, I'm just saying what we all know to be true! I'm just getting tired of making excuses for why she is such a hopeless spazz. . Hanging with her is costing me 'cool' friends and even Matt and Nigel are starting to avoid her!"

I know he's going to break up with me, break my heart. Didn't he just say the dreaded, "We have to talk" - the phrase that only means bad things to a relationship. I've got nothing to lose if he believes my act. But if he really knows me, really understands me then he won't believe what I'm saying right? So what do I have to lose.

I got my answer as Caleb shot me a disgusted look and stalked off to class.

But it's okay, because if they see a snotty biotch, then no one will waste time asking about my feelings. So I sacrificed Irma to save myself, but right now I'm not Guardian enough to save us both.

Today Irma didn't try to hang with us after what happened yesterday. This is bad especially after I spent all night long planning how I could apologize and blame my behavior on PMS. The other girls were a little quiet, but like me they waited to see if she'd be more approachable. Irma never cries, so I think she shocked us all with her tears. Hay Lin stated outright that she wasn't happy with me and I had to make things right. Hard to do if she avoids me like the plague.

The few times I saw Caleb, he was really pissed-off. He kept ordering me to apologize. At lunch was the fifth time, and I was just about livid with him because it was all he talked about. The supposed talk we were going to have never happened, as he kept storming off after he fussed at me about Irma. Finally I got so tired of having the same conversation, I intentionally pushed his buttons, saying, "Oh please, the dweeb needed to hear the truth cause somebody would have told her sooner or later, I just told her sooner."

I watched his eyes flash dangerously as he fought to contain his anger. But to tell the truth, at the moment I don't care! I think it should have bothered me more as I watched him walk away from me again. It seems like I'm always watching him leave me.

Then Kyle walk across the room, his path making a T with Caleb's, bringing him into my view. Seeing him brought me out of my thoughts about Caleb's exit. Suddenly, I didn't have an appetite anymore, my stomach roiled and threatened to empty itself and I could feel the pounding of my heart. I stood on shaky legs and headed quickly to the nurse's office.

I woke up on the cot in the nurse's office when my mom came to pick me up. She was placing a cool hand on my head checking for a fever.

"Corny? Corny baby, I'm here to take you home," crooned my mom's soft voice.

I can't remember when I was ever so glad to hear her voice or so happy to go home. Tomorrow's another day...everything has to get better... right?

* * *

 **Peter's POV**

Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for. I've wanted and waited for Cornelia for months, secretly wishing Caleb would break up with her so that I could finally have my chance to make her mine. Well today, Caleb walked into school holding hands with Cornelia's best friend's hand. He broke up with Cornelia between classes and it was messy.

I know she's hurting, its only been a few weeks since Kyle attacked her. None of her friends but me knows what happened. But if Cornelia was mine, I'd never let her go and I'd never let her hurt like this.

I wonder if it would make it better or worse if she knew that she's not the only girl Kyle has abused. Since the attack, I've talked to quite a few of Kyle's one-time only dates, I can't state for sure but I think he attacked at least six of them. Like Cornelia they all seem too embarrassed to tell anyone, but like Cornelia they carry a haunted look in their eyes and refuse to talk about their date with Kyle.

In my gut I know he's a monster. But what do I do when its not my secret to tell?

* * *

 **Cornelia's POV**

I sat on my bed alone at home after school. After Caleb broke up with me for Irma I just couldn't hang with the girls even though they were trying to be sympathetic, it was just too much. So here I am laying on the bed staring up at the ceiling, playing a game on my phone.

A part of me wants to feel better, I mean Caleb is just a boy, right? What boy is worth this much drama? But then I remember how hard I've tried to make things work - only for him to drop me like I'm nothing. It hurts and I want the pain to stop. Wasn't he supposed to care about me? Yeah, I knew he didn't love me, but didn't he at least care a little? My chest aches so I turn over and grab my pillow, cradling it close to my body. It helps ease the ache a little but nothing seems to dull the pain completely. It's too quiet, I don't really want to talk but I don't want to be alone.

Agh!

My phone signals an incoming text, but I'm afraid to read it. Will and Taranee have been trying to cheer me up non-stop since the break-up at school. I must have 40 messages from them today. The phone pings again, so I hold my breath and look.

"Need a friend? No ?s"

I smile seeing the message from Peter and roll to my back again as I scroll to his number and press call.

* * *

 **Peter's POV**

Taranee and all the girls are friends again and Cornelia has accepted that there is no future for her and Caleb. And everyone knows that Cornelia and I were fooling around while she was with Caleb. Most of the secrets are out in the open. So, she's free, but not ready to move on – at least not with me yet. So we're stuck in limbo until she can see what's right in front of her face.

You know its bad when your little sister starts trying to be your matchmaker. Taranee's been dropping heavy hints that Cornelia needs a date, or didn't Cornelia look great at school today. Taranee thinks she knows what's going on between me and Corny, but she has no idea. Today she suggested that I get a new shirt for the dance on Friday.

Yeah, right.

I've turned down every girl that asked be because they weren't Cornelia and Cornelia barely acknowledges my existence when we met up. So I seriously doubt she'll be asking me to the Ladies Choice Dance.

But when Taranee hits me with those baby browns and begs, saying she'll need a ride home, I know she's won.

So I head to the mall after practice. Taranee would be there with her friends and expected to be done by seven pm. I figure I'll have enough time to get a new dress shirt and grab something to eat before she's ready.

I head to my favorite designer menswear shop, Crest Menswear, and pick out a shirt. The tailors are pretty quick there so I was finished in less than an hour. I headed to the food court and as I left the Green Burrito, I couldn't miss my sister and her group of friends. I started towards them, noting Caleb and Irma weren't with them. After just a few steps, I catch sight of the newly engaged couple in the periphery of my eyesight. I groan inwardly as I greet them both and pull up a chair and join their group of friends.

My sister spoke up quickly, "Hey Bro! Thanks for coming...I'm going to need a ride home."

"No problem, I needed a new shirt for the dance on Friday – can't go in old threads." I replied before I dug into my Mega Meaty Burrito Supreme.

And just that simply, I was hanging out with my baby sister and her friends at the mall. After eating we broke into two groups – girls off to find dresses, guys off to find something to do for an hour while they shopped.

An hour with Caleb, not exactly how I'd volunteer to spend an hour of my time. But I need to wait for Nee and if I was lucky I'd get to see Cornelia's dress for the dance.

Caleb grabbed Irma up for a deep kiss that looked like he' might just take her on a table. When he released her but stared after while she walked away, Matt told him, "Dude, you've got it bad."

Nigel groused, "I've been dating Taranee for more than a year and she's never kissed me like that!"

"And that's a good thing," I told him, "That's my baby sister you're talking about."

He had the decency to look chagrined, obviously forgetting I was with them. I decided to let the poor kid off the hook, giving him a joking punch in the arm and smiled as I told him, "Don't sweat it dude, I'm just giving you a hard time."

We wandered aimlessly until we were in front of the arcade. I pointed my thumb to the arcade sign and we headed in different directions inside.

I wandered around playing a couple of the first person shooter games until I saw Caleb in the safari simulator. I climbed into the empty seat and we played as a team shooting mutated animals in silence. As we waited for the game to reset, I asked, "How long did you know?"

"For about the last three and a half months. Why'd you do it?"

In that moment I knew I could never tell him all the things he didn't know...all the things he needed to know – not without betraying Cornelia's trust in me. In that moment, letting Caleb blame me was best for her. Only Cornelia could tell him how his distance cut her to the core, how his lack of caring let him walk away when she was the most broken and in need. Caleb had been her knight, but he never really saw Cornelia...she was never his passion, Irma was. Now I understood why he always seemed so removed. Having lived wanting what I can't have I think I understand Caleb a little too well. We've both been going through the same thing. Now he had a new start with the woman of his dreams and I won't stop until Cornelia is mine.

I can't condemn him. For Cornelia it's better that all the blame fall on my shoulders... let everyone blame me.

So I shrugged and asked Caleb, "We cool?"

"Yeah, we're cool."

We met back up with the girls and they gave a fashion show of the dresses they'd found, complete with slinky walks showing off for us. Corny's little black dress took my breath away, the way it showed off her slim hips and long legs. The show was over once Caleb saw Irma in her dress and pulled her in for a possessive kiss. It was like a car wreck the way you just couldn't look away from the intense expression of love.

Matt whispered to Will loud enough for everyone to hear "I don't think they're going to make it home."

When Nigel asked Taranee,"How come you don't kiss me like that?"

Taranee replied, "I don't think my parents kiss like that."

"I'm pretty sure they don't," I confirmed.

My sister, ever the matchmaker, turns to me and says, "Corny looks really nice doesn't she?"

I said the first thought to come to my mind,"Yeah, she looks like a million bucks."

Taranee trailed a few steps behind her friends and added before disappearing into the changing room, "Gee Cornelia isn't it a shame no one's asked Peter to the dance?"

Cornelia was obviously caught off guard by that piece of news as she turned to me and asked, "Didn't you come here to get a new shirt for the dance? I assumed you were going with Stacee."

Trying to appear casual, I told her, "Umm, yeah, I'm not seeing Stacee anymore...decided to keep myself open for other options."

The other girls moved off to pay for their dresses, but Cornelia hung back with me and asked with a coy smile, "So if..."

I couldn't help but smile back, realizing today is my day...today is my time. I responded in a teasing tone, "So if what?"

"So if I were to ask you to the Ladies Choice dance, there would be nothing standing in either of our way? Right?"

"Hmm," I pretended to ponder just what she could mean, "Well I guess that you being single and me being single, would mean that no one could complain if we went out on a date together...like say to a Ladies Choice dance. That is if you were to ask me, and I said yes, that is."

"Is that so? Well if, and I'm not asking..just yet mind you.. but if I were to ask you to the a fore mentioned dance, what would that mean to our friendship? Cause I wouldn't want to ruin our friendship if say I have a horrible time because you're a really bad dancer."

"What! Woman, I cannot believe you just said that. Of course I can dance, I've got moves you won't be able to keep up with...that is if you were to ask me to the dance. But I guess you'll never know...

Cornelia's hand covers my mouth cutting me off mid-sentence, "Will you go to the Ladies Choice Dance with me?" she asks. She's bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet as she pulls her hand away, waiting for my answer.

"Yes," I tell her just before I lean down and press my mouth to hers. When I run my tongue along the seam of her lips, she opens to me with a soft purr-like sound. I take in her taste and feel for a moment before I end the kiss. As I pull away, I tell her, "It's about time woman. I've been waiting for you to get it in gear for a week now."

Cornelia wraps me in a quick hug before running off to pay for her dress. I look around and realize everyone else is gone, we're the only two left in the store. I head over to the cashier and wait beside Cornelia as the lady bags up the little black dress.

While the lady is busy, I lean in and whisper into Corny's ear, "You're my girl now."

"Are you asking?"

"No, that wasn't a question, I'm not taking no for an answer and I'm not willing to wait any more. I'm telling you – you're with me now, so get ready." For her answer, Cornelia leans back against me lifting a smile to my face.

The lady hands me Cornelia's dress and I take her hand as we exit the store. It's not until we get to the car that I realize I don't know where Taranee is and I tell Cornelia we need to find her.

Cornelia looks at me with a smirk and says, "You do know that Nigel got a car a couple of weeks ago right? She was so playing you when she told you she needed a ride home. But don't hold it against her...she did it for both of us, you know."

That's when I think: _'My little sister the matchmaker, she's not too old to be held down and tickled until she pukes. Payback will be mine'_.

* * *

 ** **Cheers!****

 ** **7/02/2015 7:50 PM PST****


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh yeah, I do not own W.I.T.C.H. or any of the characters, the plot is totally a work of my twisted little mind...**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

 **Peter's POV**

"So why did you wait so long to ask me to the dance?" I ask as we climb into the Jeep.

Cornelia fastens her seat belt and looks at me with soulful eyes – that look on her face...it just calls to me, saying: 'I need to be kissed.' So I lean in and take her lips, the lips of my now girlfriend.

I kiss her slow and deep, taking my time to enjoy the feel of her lips, the warmth of her breath and the slightly minty and sweet taste that was all Cornelia. Every part of me knew that this was where I belonged, with her.

I manage to undo her belt and pull her across the seat without breaking the kiss. Nestled between my chest and the steering wheel, Cornelia's slim body fits perfectly, allowing me to hold her tightly to me as we continue our exploration of each others mouths.

When we part, we're both breathing heavily as we stare into each others eyes. She's so beautiful and she's finally mine. All the aching and waiting is finally over and I have her in my arms. Holding her in my arms, feeling her lithe body pressed to mine, is almost too much to believe, as she begins to feather soft kisses along my jaw and throat. When her lips land on the junction between my neck and shoulder, I feel electricity surge to my groin and a groan escapes me. Its been so long – it feels like nirvana.

I tilt her face back to mine then dive into her again, allowing my hand to trail down the edge of her jaw, neck and come to rest on her breast. Her mound fits perfectly into my hand as I begin to massage it through her blouse. She arches her back, pressing her flesh into my palm, aiding my efforts. With each stroke of my hand, our kiss becomes more heated. When I tweak her nipple, Cornelia lets out a s squeak pulling back to look at me in surprise. I watch her face turn bright and rosy as I hold her gaze and lower my mouth to the now stiff peak and cover it with my mouth.

I'm sure I've found heaven when Cornelia says, "Um, Peter...this is going so fast and we're in the middle of the mall parking lot."

I look up and around as Cornelia brings a hand up to cover her breast, I realize she's still blushing hotly. I've forgotten where we are and the Jeep does not offer much in the way of privacy.

"Um, oh yeah...I guess I got carried away," I say almost sheepishly as I release my hold on her waist, moving to help her slide back to the passenger seat. I'm still breathing heavily and I miss her warmth immediately.

"It's okay, I liked it. I, um, wanted that as much as you."

"No I don't think you know just how much I needed to..." I lean across and steal a final quick kiss then close my eyes and lean back against the headrest and let out a deep breath. I need just a second for the fire to pass, for the pressure in my groin to ease, and continue in a raspy voice, "need to kiss you"

Turning my head, I study Cornelia – her kiss swollen lips and the way her chest rises and falls with each breath. One of her hands still rest at the breast I played with, as the other hand draw smalls circles across her lips.

Closing my eyes again, I began my confession, "Do you know how long I've wanted you? It all started when you came back from vacation, before the school year started. I don't know what happened, but something changed – you weren't the same little kid I've always known. I took one look at you and knew I had to have you. I've spent months telling myself having these feelings for you was wrong. But no matter how I told myself you were too young or that you had a boyfriend, nothing could stop my wanting and needing you. Heck, if anything, the more I tried to convince myself that you weren't right for me, the more certain I became that I loved you.

I heard her gasp at my admission.

"P-p-please...say it again."

Looking into her eyes, I said slowly, "I. Love. You. More than I have the words to say. It makes it hard to be here with you now, because even though I just asked you to be my girlfriend, in my heart this started back in August. In my heart I know we belong together, now and forever."

"Ev-even after..." Cornelia's voice is a raspy whisper and her eyes shine with unshed tears.

"Even after what?" I ask, unsure what has her worried.

"The rape," she answers in a voice so low I can barely hear her.

Large tears begin to roll down her face as I take her hands in mine, rubbing my thumbs across the backs of her hands.

"Cornelia...I love you more today than I did when we first kissed. As far as the rape is concerned, you didn't do any thing...why would you think, what Kyle did would make any difference to me?"

Between sniffles, Cornelia answers, she won't look at me and keeps staring into her lap, "I'm just not sure how you could want me...still...knowing what he did to me...inside me."

I need her to clearly understand me so I stop and think for a second. I need to lay the whole truth on the table between us.

"Cornelia...listen to me...there are things I've done with other girls since the school year started that I'm not proud of."

She lifted her head, giving my words her full attention.

I continued, "I'm sure you know that I'm not a virgin, right? But, do you know how many girls I've had sex with? I'm not proud of my sexual history. Every girl I've been with since August was an attempt to convince myself I could live without you. Just meaningless sex. What Kyle did to you – its even more meaningless. You didn't consent, he forced himself on you. He hurt you, stole your virginity and your choice. I despise him but I love you. Cornelia, I ache to erase the memories and pain he left you with."

A sob broke from deep within Cornelia's chest as she flung herself back into my arms – this time with no care for who might see us. I held her as she released the feelings that had tied her up and held her back from me this week. I hope we can move forward now...I hope she's ready to deal with things now.

Cornelia's crying slowed to heavy sobs and she sat up in her seat. I told her to buckle up and started the car. Looking at the road in front of me I hardened my resolution to the things that needed to be done and told her, "Let's go to your house, I think there are still more things we need to talk about."

"Like what?" Cornelia asked, apprehension in her voice.

"Everything, let's start this relationship with complete honesty."

That's how we found ourselves telling Cornelia's parents about the rape. We had arrived at her house and talked for more than an hour in the den. I'd told her about all the girls I'd been with, even how I'd almost called out her name during sex with Stacee. Cornelia told me about how things had been with Caleb and her attempts to make him jealous. Then I'd broached the subject of the rape and held my ground until she agreed it was important to tell her parents and make sure Kyle paid for what he did.

We're sitting on the couch, holding hands and I listen as Cornelia opens up for the first time to someone other than me. She explains her silence and fear - not wanting to be the 'broken' girl that everyone looks at with pity for the rest of her life because all they see after they find out she's been raped is a victim, forever tainted by what their attacker did. I don't try to hide my pain or the tears that well in my eyes as I hear the pain in her voice. Her parents listen quietly as she tells her tale – I add my suspicions about the other girls at school, then silence over takes the room.

After a moment, Mr. Hale looks at me and says, "You claim to have feelings for her, but how could you keep this...all of this a secret? You've known what my little girl was going through for weeks now and you said nothing?"

"It wasn't my secret to tell."

"Dad, don't blame Peter...he never gave up trying to get me to tell you guys. He's the reason I'm telling you now. You should be thanking him."

"You're right honey. Peter we do owe you a great debt for helping our daughter," Mrs. Hale shook her head and said "Unfortunately, time is not on the side of the victim in rape cases. DNA from sexual intercourse degrades quickly. Without evidence, its your word against his."

"What about the clothes she was wearing," I ask.

"Well if they had Kyle's semen and haven't been wash-"

"Oh no," Cornelia interjects, "I put all my clothes in the trash when I got home."

She begins to tear up and stutters, "I was just so sick of him...having his smell on my body...I didn't think...I didn't think..."

Mrs. Hale is quick to come to her daughter's side and catch her up in a consoling hug. In comforting tones, she tells Cornelia, "I know baby, I know baby, it's okay."

That's when I speak up, "I pulled the clothes out of the trash after you went to sleep. I was hoping you'd come around and want to press charges. And since I watch a lot of crime scene investigation shows I know that they always come back for the clothes."

"Peter you are brilliant! I'm so glad you were there for Corny!" Mrs. Hale gushes as she jumps up to grab me into a tight hug. She continued, "There's a very good chance you just made the whole case against this kid!"

I'm overwhelmed by how fast this is going. I move to the door as I say, "I put them in a bag – those clothes are in the back of my jeep. I'll go get them."

I need a little fresh air and a moment to pull myself together. Just as I think I've made my escape, Mr. Hale follows me out the door, saying as he pull the door shut, "I'll go with you and give them a moment alone...I think they both need it..."

We ride down the elevator in silence not looking at each other, both of us staring into the shiny, mirror-like doors of the elevator. When we reach the ground floor and the door opens, I take the lead heading for my Jeep.

As I turn the key in the back door, Mr. Hale begins to speak, his voice soft and full of sorrow, "Um, Peter, I'm sorry for how I acted back there. You were right to not tell us. My wife handled several rape cases early in her career and she said that they all suffered from feelings of betrayal and a loss of control. I think by keeping her secret and letting her come to the point she was ready to talk, you gave her back her sense of control and honored her trust. Thank you."

"Like I said sir, it wasn't my secret to tell," I say and take a deep breath before I continue, "Sir, my feelings for Cornelia are genuine. I've been in love with her for months just waiting for my chance to tell her because I love her too much to hurt her. It feels like I was born to take care of and protect her. You don't owe me any thanks..."

Mr. Hale gives me a look o f gratitude as he slaps a hand on my shoulder. He tries to be stoic, but I see the frustration and pain in his face – they are feelings I know and understand it all too well.

We returned to the apartment just as Mrs. Hale hung up her cell phone. I noticed that she and Cornelia were still sniffling and dabbing at moist eyes.

"What did we miss?" I ask as I hand the bag of clothes to Mrs. Hale.

"Well, I've contacted the DA's office and we are going to build a case against Kyle and based upon what you've told me about the other girls, we have a strong chance of it going straight to a grand jury. The DA has assured me that we can handle this case in such a way that there are no leaks or effects to the girls' everyday lives. So the DA is sending a courier to take the clothes to a lab and I'll meet with him tomorrow to come up with a plan to pull together our case. I'll take Corny to be examined tomorrow – the DA's hopeful that even if no DNA remains the evidence of abuse remains."

I watched Cornelia squirm as her mother explained the last part. I don't envy her, 'cause she tries to hide it, but I can tell by the way she moves sometimes that she's still sore – so maybe the DA's right. I just wish he wasn't.

* * *

 **Cheers!**

 **11/14/2015 10:25 PM PST**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **Peter's POV**

Now that Cornelia's parents know about the attack there are even more secrets. To the rest of the world, life goes on like normal – we prepare for a school dance on Friday, while Cornelia goes to examinations and counseling sessions that nobody but me knows about. There's even a barbecue scheduled for Saturday.

But whatever Cornelia needs to get through all of this – Cornelia gets.

* * *

 **Cornelia's POV**

Sitting at lunch with the other guardians and their boyfriends on Wednesday, I realize I've got to talk to my mom about all the damage she did to Irma's rep. She was really mad when I told her about the break-up and I think she mistook my behavior as sadness over Caleb, but I'm still finding out about how many other parents she ranted to. I think she'll be really sorry she went so overboard.

This morning before first period, I was seen by a doctor specializing in treating victims of sex crimes. Luckily it's not her main job, so when I had to sit in her waiting room people weren't staring at me. Its a small thing but it meant a lot to me.

So the DA was right, it turns out that the internal tearing from a rape can take 6 to 8 weeks to fully heal, and being a virgin before the attack means they have strong evidence against Kyle. Add to it the pictures they took of the deep gouges his nails left at my hips and my mom is feeling pretty positive about being able to put him away.

I'm pulled out of my thoughts by Hay Lin eagerly pushing drawings of her dress modification at me. I have to admit, the girl has serious talent.

"Wow, Hay Lin you're going to be so beautiful, it's going to blow Eric's mind!" Irma says.

"Speaking of Eric, what happened the other day?" Will asks.

Hay Lin looked at Eric and bit her lip, but said nothing.

"Oh, no you don't. No secrets and no easy outs for you, not after I had all my secrets spilled," I demanded.

"I'm with Corny on that one, especially since _everyone_ seems to freely talk about my life," Irma added.

"Um well," Hay Lin stalled.

Eric said, "I'll tell them Hay, My mom heard about all the drama with Irma and Caleb at her Pilates class with Cornelia's mom. Cornelia's mom really ragged on you guys bad, calling Irma a slut and whore and when my mom found out that Hay Lin was Irma's best friend she freaked out. She figured birds of a feather flocked together and told me I couldn't date Hay Lin anymore, she...umm, didn't want me to be 'ruined' like Caleb had been."

"Cool," Caleb joked, "you ruined me. Thanks babe."

"Hey!, Not funny," Irma said as she punched Caleb's shoulder, "I am so not a slut and Hay Lin even less so!"

"Leave it to my mom. I'm sorry about that guys," I said feeling truly drained.

Taranee looked at Nigel and asked, "Does your mom think I'm a slut too?"

"Nah, Cornelia's mom called her too, but she knows you're too much of a good girl to act like your friends. She even told Cornelia's mom that you'd be a good influence on Irma."

Irma's head dropped to the table and she groaned dramatically, "I can't believe this! How am I the bad guy all of a sudden?" She lifted her head and looked at Caleb, "And nobody says a bad thing about you at all."

"Yeah, it's not fair, but I'm a guy, people sort of expect me to date around."

"Buster, you are not helping yourself, you know...but do you really want to piss off your fiance?"

Nigel exclaimed, "Whoa! Fiance? Dude, what did I miss?,"

"Um...so you didn't know about that, huh?"

In shock, Nigel continued, "You've got to be kidding, you can't be engaged! We're not even out of high school yet...Oh crap! You knocked Irma up didn't you?"

Caleb started, "No it's not like that..."

Hay Lin supplied, "No, it's not, Irma's not pregnant...at least we don't think so, she hasn't been tested yet."

"Hay Lin!" The group groaned in unison.

"Okay, here we go again with that 'Irma's life is public domain' again. I'm going to the restroom," Irma growled, "Alone. I need to get away where my life isn't center stage."

"Man, I tried to ignore the rumors...and you didn't tell me." Nigel said, to Taranee.

"Well..." Taranee squeaked.

"Enough!" Caleb yelled and everyone looked at him in shocked silence. He continued, "Hay Lin that was so not cool! But all of you need to just stop talking about us like we're not here, stop using our relationship details as subject matter. You keep talking about our personal life like its something to be broadcast on the news, well it's not, it's _PERSONAL_ , that means what goes on between the two of us is not something you run and tell your boyfriends! He said eying each of the girls in turn. "You guys are almost as bad as the school gossips, spreading rumors about us. We already get accusing looks from everyone else, we don't need our friends adding to it."

Will tried to placate Caleb's ire, saying, "Ease up, Caleb, we know its weird for you guys, but its weird for us too...None of us has any idea how to hand-"

At this point I have to chime in my point of view, "You know, I agree with Caleb...I've been on both sides of the situation, and even if we don't know how to handle it, we know it hurts to hear our personal lives being dissected by everyone around us. I think we all need to just stop talking about them, they're not zoo animals and there are other things in life to focus on."

I swear all of their jaws dropped open with looks of dumb surprise. What? Don't they think I have deep thoughts? If only they knew what I'm going through then they'd understand why I feel this way.

Nigel all but whined, "That's easier said than done, what Caleb and Irma do affects us – they can screw up and I'll lose my girlfriend too just by association."

"Dude, man up. My relationship with Irma has nothing to do with you and Taranee. You are in control of your relationship, based on your decisions and actions – don't dump on me if you don't stand up for your girl."

"Gee Taranee aren't you the person that gave me the kick in the butt on Saturday? I think my heads in a really good place now, better than its been in months and I have you to thank for that. You're strong and you know your own mind, you bring that to your relationship with Nigel, same for Will and Hay Lin," I add.

"Wow, Cornelia that's really deep,"

Just then Peter comes over with his tray and sits down beside me.

"Hey! What's up?"

Irma was still in the restroom, but the tense discussion was over and I was starting to relax having Peter's solid warmth next to me. After my morning, I needed to see him and he didn't disappoint capturing my hand in his with a gentle squeeze as soon as he sat down. Somehow the conversation moved to rides to the dance. I pretended to listen, nodding where appropriate, but I was lost in thought of what Dr. D'Adamo had told me earlier in my first counseling session.

" _It's hard for young rape victims, especially virgins – they have nothing but the bad memories, and that hinders them from moving forward, because they have no reference for how good and pure love can be. If you were older...more experienced your healing process would be more focused on returning to a normal lifestyle, instead of trying to define normal with no references. I know you've heard this before, but it just takes time. Time for the memories to fade, time for the wounds to heal, and time for you to make new memories that replace the bad. Cornelia, you are young and someone special will enter your life and make you feel safe and loved. You'll make new memories – good ones – and be able to trust and fall in love. We'll work..."_

Kids running and the commotion of the teachers rushing from the lunch room pulled me from my thoughts. Everyone was heading to the door and Peter grabbed my hand pulling me in tow. We followed the flow of the crowd to the stairwell. Coach was already shooing people away as he forcibly ushered a bloodied and sniveling Martin towards the office. His pants were open and there were several marks on his face. I just couldn't understand what happened...maybe Uriah tried to give him a swirly.

Then I saw Caleb coming out of the stairwell with Irma in his arms, she was bloody, her clothes torn from the way her head dropped back, she was unconscious.

All the pieces came together in my head, and I realized what Martin had tried to do...what Caleb had saved Irma from.

I could feel the shivers begin to rush up and down my spine. I couldn't walk as my knees locked in place as the memories rolled over me. I could feel Kyle's hands as the forced me against the bleacher support, the way he pushed me forward and forced himself inside my unwilling body. Just as I thought I would pass out, I felt Peter wrap his arms around me and heard his gentle and calming words whispered into my ear.

* * *

 **Peter's POV**

Like everyone else we left the cafeteria to see what was going on. The hall was hushed as Coach Collins dragged Martin out of the stairwell by his collar. The moment I saw Caleb come out carrying Irma, I knew what had almost happened.

I turned to see that Cornelia understood the situation too. She shook from head to toe and wrapped her arms around herself in a protective hug as the blood drained from her face. She was shutting down right before my eyes. I had to act fast to keep her cognizant and protect her secret.

Pulling her into my arms, I rubbed circles on her back with the palm of my hand all the while whispering in her ear, calling her back to me. Cornelia recovered enough to look up at me with a pain-filled gaze. That's when I knew I had to get her out of here.

Luckily no one was really paying attention to bystanders like us yet, so I backed us away from the crowd, heading back to the cafeteria. Cornelia meekly followed my leading, blindly grabbing hold of her purse as I scrabbled to get the rest of our things. We headed out the back door of the cafeteria and straight for my Jeep. It was a good thing that everyone else's attention was still on the whole Martin and Irma thing, so it seemed no one noticed us leave. We were able to get to my car and drive off without any problems.

It was quiet inside the car as we left the school grounds. Corny stared blindly out the front window. When we were a couple of blocks from the school, I tried to get her to talk to me...to pull her back to reality.

"Corny, it's okay now. You're okay. I won't let anything happen to you."

Cornelia's head dropped back against the headrest, then she turned to look at me. Her eyes were sad as she whispered, "I hope he got to her in time. I wouldn't wish...that on anyone."

Cornelia had told me that at times the memories of the rape seemed to forcibly overtake her mind and all she could do is remember the pain and fear. She'd started sleeping with her headphones on and her MP3 player on so that at night there were no quiet moments for the bad memories to get in. But here she was faced with real-life visions that probably brought back the bad memories and she was more worried about her friend, hoping her friend would be safe and well.

"Me too, Babe," I replied, glad she was not lost in tormenting thoughts.

"Can we go to Diablo Peak," Cornelia asked, as she watched me drive. Her arms still clutched protectively around herself.

"Diablo Peak?" I asked incredulously. I'd told Cornelia everything in my sexual history, so she knew that was where I used to take girls for privacy to have sex in the back of my Jeep. I continued, "Why do you want to go there?"

"Because its private and I can just be with you for a while until I feel calm enough to face the rest of the world."

So we'll go to Diablo Peak. What Cornelia needs to get better and feel stronger, she gets.

* * *

 **Cornelia's POV**

At Diablo Peak Peter pulled a blanket from the back of the Jeep and spread it across the hood and windshield. Then he and I sat side-by-side on top of the jeep, leaning back on the windshield to watch the movement of Heatherfield down below. It was quiet, it was calming and it was safe. Peter's presence beside made everything alright.

Peter took me home, ending our day together with deep passionate kisses in the elevator and outside the door of our apartment.

"Mmm," I smiled as Peter ended the kiss, "I really like making good memories with you"

"What?" Peter asked as he nuzzled my neck.

"My counselor told me to focus on making good memories, that the good memories I make will help push away the bad. So just so you know...kissing you is making a very good memory."

Peter chuckled then captured my mouth for another deep kiss.

Even with all of our PDA time, I got home in time for dinner and told my family about the day. Both of my parents engulfed me in big bear hugs but said nothing, they know me so well. No well-meaning words of advice were needed, I just needed to know I could tell them anything and have their support.

Actually I'm feeling sort of good about today, even though I had started to shut down, I didn't. And spending time with Peter was giving me the good memories I need – the kind that fight back the bad ones.

I know that the girls will want to go see Irma tomorrow. Peter's quick thinking got me out and away before I could be dragged anywhere that my discomfort would have been all too evident. That had bought me time, time to prepare myself to be able to stand unwaveringly when I had to go check on my friend.

Our visit with Irma was cut short by the arrival of two of Heatherfield's finest, there to take Irma's statement about the attack. I wish I could say I wasn't ready to go but I was – it was all I could do to keep the memories at bay and feign an interest in the conversation being held around me.

Peter was waiting for me as I exited Irma's house. He leaned against his jeep with a smile on his face. When he saw me, he stood up, waved a greeting and opened the door to his car.

I stuttered, "I...I didn't expect -"

"I know, you didn't expect to see me," Peter stated as he reached for my hand, "but do you _want_ to see me?"

He awaited my response with one raised eyebrow and a smirk, his hand softly enveloping mine in a cocoon of warmth and safety. I felt a smile overtake my face as I nodded a quick yes, then turned to tell my friends good-bye.

The warm band of Peter's arm slid around my middle as he pulled me snug against him. Feeling my body pressed so close to his made me forget what I was about to say, only a high pitched squeak escapes my mouth. Luckily Peter speaks up, like my response to his public claiming was already normal in our new relationship.

"Hey," he address the group gathered on Irma and Caleb's porch.

Taranee is the first to respond, with a quick, "Hey bro!". Then she smiles and winks at me. The others offer various "Hi" and "What's up" all seeming to readily accept Peter showing up to steal me away.

Matt complained, "Dude, how'd you get out of visita-." Will cut him off mid-sentence with an elbow that made him go "Oof". Rubbing his ribs where the hit caught him, Matt fell silent giving is girlfriend a look that said payback was coming.

"So...anybody hungry?" Hay Lin asked, then continued, "Cause I'm sure now's a great time to head by the restaurant and get a snack."

"We're in," Peter responded, "And if you guys squeeze in, I think I can get the four of you in the backseat."

I jumped into the passenger seat as Will, Taranee and Hay Lin moved towards the car, but I could tell that Matt was not looking forward to being jammed into the backseat of the Jeep. Will turned to see that Matt was not moving to join them. She stopped and coaxed him, saying, "Come on Matt. I can't get in until you do...that is if you don't mind me sitting in your lap."

Funny how easy it is to manipulate a teenaged male, because at her words a smile broke out on Matt's face and he moved quickly into the backseat, pulling Will snuggly down on his lap.

* * *

Cheers!

1/3/2016 11:05 PM PST


	7. Chapter 7

**Oh yeah, I do not own W.I.T.C.H. or any of the characters, the plot is totally a work of my twisted little mind...**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

 **Cornelia's POV**

After our little group get together at the Silver Dragon, I was pretty calm about hanging out with the whole group of our friends at the dance. Peter looked dashing in his Dior suit when he arrived to pick me up – presenting me with a single blue rose mounted on a hair clip. It was a unique and thoughtful gift, that made my mother squeal when she saw it. She calmed down enough to help me place the flower securely in my hair before we left the house.

Ever the gentleman, Peter, took my hand to guide me out the door and to the car. Getting in and out of the car, he forbid me from opening the door for myself. He swept me into the dance like the event was in my honor, ignoring a couple of his former 'friends with benefits' that tried to get his attention as we glided by. Peter made me the center of his focus, like I'm a princess, pampered and precious. The thought made color rise to my cheeks.

"What?" he asked seeing the red tint my pale skin.

"Nothing," I mumbled.

"Come on, tell me," he charmed as he gave me puppy dog eyes, all the while he pulled me towards the floor as a slow song started. He pulled me close and hummed in time to the music, leading me across the dance floor.

"It...It's just that I've never...uh...well...it feels sort of like you're treating me like a princess – I feel sort of pampered...and treasured..." I felt the words sort of trip from my lips, feeling silly admitting my feelings. I mean after all, I'm the farthest thing from a princess.

Peter's hand gently tipped my chin up allowing him to lean in and brush his lips gently against mine. When the chaste kiss ended, he whispered, "To me you are a princess. To me you are precious _and_ treasured."

I lowered my eyes, the flutter in my heart taking me by surprise. I took a chance to glance up through my lashes to find Peter staring at me with a look that told me his words were true, but more than that, I saw hunger in his eyes.

"Cornelia, I have to tell you this...I love you." When I tried to speak, Peter shushed me by placing a finger on my lips and pulling me close again.

With his lips at my ear as he continued, "I have for a while...I know how much you've been hurt by guys in the last few weeks, but I want you to know that I'm not them. I'm almost eighteen...I'm growing up...not a kid anymore. My feelings for you are not teenaged-infatuation. Can you deal with that? I hope you can, because I'm long past the point where I can give you up."

As the song ended, Peter waved to our friends, but held me close as the next song started up. I could feel the heat his words caused flame to my cheeks. Peter quickly found the beat of the song and began swaying our bodies to the rhythm. He had asked me a question, but was in no hurry to hear my answer, he gave me this moment...this moment to just be and enjoy.

I floated across the dance floor in Peter's arms, one hand at the small of my back, one hand holding mine – fingers interlaced. I laid my head against his chest and wrapped my other arm around his neck. The spell was almost broken when I felt Peter shake his head. Looking up I saw Aaron Shane trying unsuccessfully to cut in on our dance. Peter refused to allow the intrusion and gave Aaron a hard look that made the junior step back and slink away.

After that, no one else tried to interrupt us, leaving Peter free to monopolize my dance card and I had no complaints.

After dancing for several songs, we took a break on the bleachers with the other guardians and their guys. It was good to see that Irma was doing well enough to come to the dance. She looked happy and Caleb was showering her with attention. Strangely, it didn't bother me in the slightest. In the back of my mind, I had been a little afraid that seeing them together...seeing Caleb give her the attention he never gave me...would hurt or at the least be a little uncomfortable to watch. But boy, was I wrong.

At some point my heart not only let go of Caleb but I accepted and understood what he and Irma shared.

I released a breath, feeling relief as I digested the fact that watching them together seemed right...it was right.

"Are you okay?" Peter asked watching me intently, his arm wrapped around me keeping me close. I snuggled into his side, into the spot that seem to fit me so well. By his side, in his arms...I belong with Peter. I'm so glad he waited for me and that he wants me. I lift my face to his with a smile happy to be here with him. I see his eyes light up as he moves into take my lips with a sealing kiss.

"I want to be with you too." I respond as his lips touch mine with feather lightness.

It's a simple, true statement, just not the big truth. Because I love him. I know it in every fiber of my being. But I can't bring myself to say it...I don't know why its so hard to say to him...Didn't he just lay it all on the line for me? I'm just not ready to say the words. And I don't know why.

I'm still smiling when he ends the kiss, I stand up and ask, "Hey, anybody up for a ladies room trip?"

Will, Taranee, Hay Lin and Irma followed me to the restroom. Peter openly smirked at our group departure, calling out after us, "Now when you get there and talk about how good we look, remember this is real Dior."

Of course we talked about how good the guys looked when we got to the restroom. The big news we got was that Nigel finally got the nerve to squeeze Taranee's butt. Taranee blushed like never before as she shyly related the events that lead up to intimate touch. And we all laughed until our sides hurt at her confusion over whether she liked it or not. Finally, when we thought we'd been gone long enough, we headed back to the dance and our respective loves.

Peter pulled me over to the buffet table for refreshments, just as Clubber and Uriah walked up and made a big show of getting punch. Now its true that that those two are not the sharpest knives in the drawer, but they're not so slow as to need step by step directions ladle punch. Obviously Peter was thinking the same thing, because he whispered, "Be right back Babe, I think someone needs to check on the idiot brigade."

Just in case things got messy, I stepped away from the table and took a moment to look around the gym. I have to give the dance committee kudos on the decorations. Streamers and balloons overhead obscured the gym equipment and the use of smoke machines and balloons around the rim of the gym did give the place an other world ambiance. As I waited for Peter, Sarah Grey, a senior I knew only in passing came and stood next to me.

When she said nothing, neither did I – we had no real common interests, so I let silence rule.

"Did he do it to you too?" she asked in a barely audible voice.

My spine prickled and stiffened at her unexpected words. I turned slowly towards her, afraid to believe that we might actually have a very horrific event in common.

Before I could speak, she continued, "You don't have to answer, its okay. It's taken me so long just to come to terms with it – you know stomach the fear and shame. You're probably wondering how I know. Peter and I are in a couple of classes and he pulled me aside last week and asked me…I guess you know what he asked. It seems he's been reaching out to all the girls that Kyle 'dated' in the last three years. He had put together how I've changed since freshman year, after my one and only date with Kyle."

Feeling aghast, I tried to ask, "Did he tell-"

"No," she replied, "He told me about what your mom is doing, but he never said anything about you. I just sort of put it together. You know it just sort of makes sense, because Peter is totally the type of guy that would fight for others. Having your mom leading this underground charge against Kyle means he must have done something or tried to at least with you. I'm just glad you have Peter. Before he confronted me I never told anyone and it's been two years. Two years of hurting in silence and feeling dirty and alone."

Seeing the pain in her eyes, knowing how bad the secret had ate at me, my heart ached for Sarah. I had never been alone. Peter had always known and he had stayed beside me making sure I was okay. I couldn't imagine keeping that secret for two years. I couldn't imagine suffering alone for two whole years. Sarah deserved what I have, she needed to know she wasn't alone and that it could be better.

"He-" I started, my voice quivering, I coughed and cleared my throat as I began again "Yes, he...Kyle raped me."

I watched her eyes fill with tears and her shoulders begin to quake. I pull her into a hug offering the same comfort that was offered to me when I had to admit what happened. Sarah's fingers dug into my flesh as she gripped me tightly and sobbed quietly. I'm not sure when it happened but I realized I was crying with her. Luckily the room was pretty dark or people might have noticed the two girls crying and hugging.

That's when Peter came back over. He pulled us apart then gently ushered us out of the gym. The three of us walked down the dimly lit halls until we found an unlocked classroom. We went in closed the door and settled in for a heartfelt talk.

Sarah had been unsure about what Peter had told her. But after my confession, she felt more in control and willing to listen. By the time we had told her everything, she was ready to help us put Kyle away for a long time. Our talk took so long that the dance was over when we came out of the room.

My perfect gentleman of a boyfriend gave Sarah a ride home before taking me home and walking me to my door. As he turned to leave I grabbed his hand and asked him to stay while I told my parents about Sarah. I felt my heart swoon as he moved back to my side, ready to support me as I informed my parents we'd found another girl to stand against Kyle.

Strange but it was a scary but freeing thing to admit for both me and Sarah, but it had to be done. I don't know about Sarah, but I feel stronger for it. Everyone I've told has been supportive – not condemning like I had originally feared. Each time I've admitted what happened it has helped heal my soul. Telling freed me.

* * *

 **Peter's POV**

The dance was awesome, I got some up-close time with my girl and we convinced Sarah to add her voice to the case against Kyle. Cornelia's mom didn't know whether to celebrate at the news or cry. Sarah makes seven, that's just seven too many girls having to suffer because of that prick.

I headed home after we finished talking with Cornelia's parents. Well actually, after Cornelia's parents said good night and went to bed leaving us to make-out on the couch. After a half an hour, I begrudgingly broke away from the sweetest kisses I've ever known to head home.

I was humming as I walked in the door. The night had been really good – good for me and Corny, good for Sarah and good for Mrs. Hale's case. It felt like I was on top of the world. I headed for my room, intent on calling it a night. That is until my little sis knocked on the door and said she needed to talk. That's when I found out that Martin had attacked Irma again.

As Taranee told the story of the events before the dance ended, I felt my stomach drop. My stomached rolled at the thought of what Martin had tried to do for a second time to Irma. I could only imagine how hurt and furious Caleb was, probably the same way I feel about Kyle and what he'd done to Cornelia. The tightness in my gut released considerably as Taranee continued the tale, and I learned that Irma had stood up to him and fought off the attack.

I developed a new level of respect for Irma and lifted a prayer of thanks that she was safe. I envy Caleb, he will never know the pain of seeing the love of his life hurt that way.

* * *

Cheers!

1/20/2016 10:40 PM


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